JP3739999B2 - 3D graphical manipulator - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for manipulating a computer generated model and visualizing a change in projection plane before entering a projection creation command. After selection of a projection plane on the 3-D model, a generative drafting document can be created wherein the projection plane becomes the plane of the screen. The system can display a visualization of the projection of the model in plane with the screen, without generating a fully computed projection. Display of the visualization can provide increased efficiency in processing time as compared to a fully computed projection. The system can also display a graphical manipulator including a circular central region with a button in the middle, wherein clicking on the button can be used as a command to the system requesting creation of the projection. The graphical manipulator software tool can also include quadrants, wherein each quadrant is associated with a direction in relation to an orthogonal axis. The four quadrants can be defined as left, right, up and down: Clicking on a quadrant can cause the projection plane to rotate by 90 degrees, or other predetermined amount, around two orthogonal axes of the model in the projection plane. The direction of rotation will correlate with the quadrant selected. In addition, the manipulator tool can include a pin tracking the circumference of a circle displayed on a computer screen. Selection of the pin and rotation can cause the projection plane of a computer generated model to rotate about an axis which is perpendicular to the projection screen. <IMAGE>

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to computer software utility programs, and more particularly to selecting a projection plane in a computer aided design / computer aided manufacturing (CAD / CAM) software system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When using CAD / CAM applications, it is often desirable to create a two-dimensional (2-D) plan view that represents different views of a three-dimensional (3-D) model. Creating a 2-D view from a 3-D model is sometimes called generative drafting. One of the difficult problems associated with this generation drafting process is selecting the most desirable orientation for the view being drafted.
[0003]
In some currently available systems, the selection of the projection plane can only be made with a 3-D model. If the user wants to change the projection plane, the system must recalculate the 2-D view because the user must return to the 3-D model. This recalculation consumes valuable calculation time and causes a decrease in productivity. Other systems have their own 3-D viewer with various manipulation commands to avoid this loss of productivity. However, when using a 3-D viewer, the user must call this viewer on the screen each time it needs to manipulate the orientation of the projected view, which can also reduce productivity.
[0004]
In other known systems, the default is to display an isometric view of the 3-D model in the drawing plane. In this case, the user must define the orientation by specifying the name of the view to be acquired and selecting two planes, ie edges. When the last selection has been made, the projection can be calculated by the system. When the user selected parameter is changed, the system needs to generate another projection calculation. Such calculations are processor intensive and are time consuming.
[0005]
Therefore, there is a need for an easy-to-use manipulator that allows the user to continue to operate as desired while still in the drawing document, and to visualize the results of the orientation change before entering projection creation commands. .
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In view of the above, the present invention provides a method and apparatus that allows a computer generated model to be manipulated to allow a projection creation command to be input after the projection plane has been visualized.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
When the user selects a projection plane in the 3-D model in relation to the generated document, that projection plane becomes the plane of the screen. The system can display a visualization of the projection of the model on the plane of the screen without generating a fully calculated projection. Visualization displays are more efficient in processing time than fully calculated projections.
[0008]
The system can also display a graphical manipulator, which, in the preferred embodiment, includes a circular central area with a button in the center that, when clicked, causes the command to be sent to the system. In general, it is in a form that can request creation of a projection.
[0009]
In general, in another aspect of the invention, a graphical manipulator software tool can include quadrants, also referred to as quadrants, where each quadrant is associated with a direction relative to an orthogonal axis. It has been. Programmable interactive devices can be associated with each quadrant and respond to activation by a pointing device, such as clicking a mouse button. The four quadrants can be defined as left, right, top and bottom. Clicking on a certain quadrant can rotate the projection plane by 90 degrees around the two orthogonal axes of the model in the projection plane, or by another predetermined amount. The direction of rotation will have a correlation with the selected quadrant.
[0010]
In another aspect of the invention, software tools including pins or other user interactive devices that track the circumference of a circle can be displayed on a computer screen with a computer-generated model. Yes. The user can select a pin with a pointing device and rotate the pin about the displayed circle. When the pin is rotated, the projection plane of the computer generated model can be rotated about an axis orthogonal to the projection screen. Furthermore, according to the invention, it is also possible to include an interactive menu for selecting an operating mode that controls the rotation of the pins and the corresponding rotation of the projection plane. In general, rotation options include free hand rotation, incremental rotation, and rotation angle input. Activating the pin gives the user the best possible view of the model, from which he can select the desired view that can be displayed in the final drawing. Once the desired view is selected, the system can create a full projection.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1, physical resources of a computer system 100 are shown. The computer 100 has a central processor 101 connected to a processor host bus 102 through which data, address and control signals are passed. The processor 101 can be a conventional general-purpose single-chip microprocessor or a multi-chip microprocessor. Examples include Pentium (registered trademark) series processors, K6 processors, MIPS (registered trademark) processors, Power PC (registered trademark) processors, and ALPHA (registered trademark) processors. In addition, the processor 101 may be a conventional special purpose microprocessor, such as a digital signal processor or a graphics processor. The microprocessor 101 can be coupled to the processor host bus 102 with conventional address, data, and control lines.
[0012]
The computer 100 can include a system controller 103 in which a RAM memory controller 104 is incorporated. Since the system controller 103 can be connected to the host bus 102, it can serve as an interface with the random access memory 105. The system controller 103 can also be a host bus with peripheral bus bridging functions. In this way, the controller 103 can exchange signals on the processor host bus 102 with compatibility with signals on the primary peripheral bus 110. The peripheral bus 110 can be, for example, a Peripheral Component Interconnect PCI bus, an Industry Standard Architecture ISA bus, or a Micro-Channel bus. Is possible. In addition, the controller 103 functions to buffer data between the host bus 102 and the peripheral bus 110 to match the data transfer rate. In this way, the controller 103, for example, has a 64-bit 66 MHz interface, and the processor 101 having a data transfer rate of 533 Mbytes / second is a data path having a different data path bit width, clock speed, or data transfer rate. It is possible to interface with the PCI bus 110 having
[0013]
For example, a hard disk drive control interface included in the bridge controller 111 coupled to the hard disk drive 113, a video display controller 112 coupled to the video display 115, and an accessory device including a keyboard and mouse controller 121 connect to the bus 120 and the processor 101 can be controlled. The computer system can include a connection to a computer system network, an intranet, or the Internet. Data and information can be sent and received over this connection.
[0014]
The computer 100 may also be equipped with a non-volatile ROM memory 122 in which basic computer software routines are stored. The ROM 122 includes a changeable memory such as an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory), in which configuration data can be stored. BIOS routines 123 can be stored in ROM 122 to provide basic computer initialization, system testing, and input / output (I / O) services. The BIOS 123 may include a routine that allows the operating system to be “booted” from the disk 113. Examples of high-level operating systems include Microsoft Windows 98 ™, Windows NT ™, UNIX, LINUX, Apple MacOS ™ operating system, and other operating systems.
[0015]
The operating system can be loaded entirely into the RAM memory 105, or a portion of it can be placed in the RAM memory 105, the disk drive storage 113, or storage located at a network location. The operating system may have the capability to execute software applications, software systems and software system tools. The software functions allow access to the video display controller 112 and other resources of the computer system 100 to perform 2D (2-D) and 3D (3-D) modeling on the video computer display 115. Yes.
[0016]
Referring now to FIG. 2, the CAD / CAM display 200 can be displayed during the execution of a computer aided design / computer aided manufacturing CAD / CAM application so that the user can -Create 2-D floor plans that represent different views of the D model. Creating this 2-D plan view is sometimes called generation drafting. The CAD / CAM display 200 can include a computer generated model 220 and a hierarchical tree 210. The hierarchical tree can be used to select the projection plane of the computer generated model 220. In the present invention, the projection plane display area 230 can display a visualization of the projection plane of the model 220.
[0017]
Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the figure shows a computer-generated model 220 in a 2-D visualization 310. The projection plane of this visualization 310 corresponds to the top surface of the model (ie the car roof). Visualization 310 allows the user to visualize a particular view of model 220. The processing required of the computer system 100 to obtain visualization is greatly reduced compared to creating a drafting document using all drafting data. According to visualization 310, pixel data for display 300 can be obtained. Limiting the data to pixel data reduces processing time. In the case of a complicated model structure, creating all drafting data places a heavy processing burden on the computer system 100 and requires a relatively large amount of time.
[0018]
The graphical manipulator software tool 330 can also be displayed in the projection plane display area 230.
[0019]
Referring now to FIG. 4, the manipulator tool 330 can include a central area 410 that serves as a button or other user interactive device. This central area 410 can be used to command the computer system 100 to request the creation of a projection plane display 310. The button 410 can be activated by placing the cursor on the button 410 and clicking a mouse or other pointing device.
[0020]
The manipulator tool 330 can also include four quadrants 420, 421, 422 and 423. These quadrants 420-423 can act as buttons or other interactive software devices. Each quadrant can be associated with a direction, such as left, right, up, down. When clicked in a certain quadrant, the projection plane can be rotated by a predetermined amount, for example, 90 degrees around one of the two orthogonal axes of the model defining the current projection plane. The amount of rotation can be programmed into the quadrant button. The direction of rotation can be defined by activating quadrants 420-423. The actions taken in response to quadrant activation are further described below. The manipulator tool 330 can also include a pen or other device attached to the outer periphery of the manipulator 330. When the pin 430 is selected and driven in a clockwise or counterclockwise circular motion, the projection plane can be rotated about an axis that is orthogonal to the projection plane. The projection plane coincides with the plane of the display screen. When the cursor is placed on the manipulator pin 430, clicking the right mouse button or clicking other alternative selection actions can cause the rotation options menu to be displayed.
[0021]
Next, referring to FIG. 5, when the upper quadrant 420 is selected, the projection plane can be rotated 90 degrees toward the top of the visualization. In the illustrated example, the model 310 is rotated from the top view (top view) 300 to the profile view 510 following activation of the upper quadrant 420.
[0022]
Next, referring to FIG. 6, when the right quadrant 421 is activated, the projection plane can be rotated 90 degrees to the right. The resulting image 610 is a side view (side view) of the model 310.
[0023]
Next, referring to FIG. 7, when the lower quadrant 422 is activated, the projection plane can be rotated 90 degrees downward. The resulting image 710 is a bottom-up view (bottom view) of the model 310. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 8, when the left quadrant is activated, the projection plane can be rotated 90 degrees to the left. In the illustrated example, the resulting image 810 is a profile of the previous image 710.
[0024]
Next, referring to FIG. 9, when the manipulator pin 430 is rotated, the projection plane can be rotated around an axis orthogonal to the projection plane. In the illustrated example, the resulting image 910 has been rotated 330 degrees from the previous image 810. The rotation of the pin 430 can be performed, for example, by selecting the pin with a cursor indicated by the mouse and dragging the pin 430 around the circumference of the manipulator tool 330.
[0025]
Next, referring to FIG. 10, the manipulator pin 430 is returned to the zero degree position. The resulting image 1010 shows the projection plane restored to the same position as in FIG.
[0026]
In addition to manipulator pin 430, rotation arrows 920 and 1020 can be used to rotate the projection plane. In some embodiments, a rotation arrow can be placed around the central area button 410 and within quadrants 412-424. Since each rotation arrow can act as a user interactive device, activating the device with a cursor controlled by a pointing device will cause the projection plane to rotate a predetermined number of degrees. In a preferred embodiment, the projection plane can be preset to rotate 30 degrees in the direction indicated by the arrow. The direction of rotation can include a clockwise arrow 920 and a counterclockwise arrow 1020.
[0027]
Referring now to FIG. 11, when the right mouse button is clicked or another alternative selection action is clicked while the cursor is over the manipulator pin 430, the rotation options menu 1110 Can be displayed. This rotation option menu 1110 can include various programmable options that allow the manipulator pin device 430 to rotate the projection plane. Programmable rotation options may include a freehand rotation 1120, an incremental hand rotation 1130, an incremental setting 1140, and a setting 1150 for the current angle.
[0028]
Referring now to FIG. 12, incremental hand rotation 1130 can be indicated by regularly spaced markings 1210 around the periphery of the manipulator tool 330. This perimeter marking 1210 can visually inform the user that the manipulator pin 430 is in incremental hand rotation mode 1130.
[0029]
Referring now to FIG. 13, the freehand rotation 1120 can similarly be represented by a smooth surface 1310 around the periphery of the manipulator tool 330. With freehand rotation, the user can freely move the pin, so that the desired amount of rotation can be freely defined.
[0030]
Incremental hand rotation 1130 allows the pin to be moved in small increments. The default value for each increment can be 180 degrees divided by 16, ie, 11.25 degrees of movement per increment. Increment setting option 1140 can be selected from menu 1110. Using this increment setting option 1140, the user can change the value of each increment. When the user selects the current angle setting option 1150 from the menu 1110, the user can also set the current angle to a desired value.
[0031]
Next, referring to FIG. 14, when the current angle setting option 1150 is selected, a current angle menu 1410 can be displayed. The current angle menu 1410 may include frequently selected values such as zero degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees, or other values important to the user. In addition, a set angle value 1420 can be selected. Using the angle value setting 1420, the user can key in the angle value.
[0032]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, clicking on the circular central area 410 in the graphical view manipulator creates a projected document 1510 in the system based on the visualization that currently occupies the display screen. Can be made. In addition to activating the user interactive device that acts as the center button 410 in the graphical view manipulator 330, the user can also click on the display screen in the area 1430 outside the dashed line 1435 surrounding the visualization image. .
[0033]
Referring now to FIG. 16, in one preferred embodiment, a view manipulator tool can be used to conveniently form an isometric view of the modeled part without returning to the 3-D view. It is like that. A 2-D view, such as the top view 1610 of the object, can begin with the manipulator pin 430 set to the zero degree mark 1620.
[0034]
Next, referring to FIG. 17, using the pin 430 or the manipulator arrow 920, the object can be rotated, for example, 30 degrees. If you rotate the object less than 90 degrees, you should eventually get an isometric view. The manipulator tool 330 can indicate when the object 1610 has been rotated 30 degrees by placing the pin 430 at the position of the 30 degree mark 1710. After an initial rotation other than 90 degrees is performed, quadrants such as the upper quadrant 420 can be activated so that the projection plane of the object 1610 is rotated 90 degrees about one of the two orthogonal axes.
[0035]
Next, as shown in FIG. 19, a projection plane other than 90 degrees is shown. For example, the manipulator pin 430 can be moved to the 60 degree position 1910.
[0036]
Next, with reference to FIG. 20, when a quadrant other than the initial quadrant, such as the right quadrant 421, is activated, the projection plane can be displayed as an isometric view 1610. Next, as shown in FIG. 21, activation of the center region button 410 can instruct the computer system 100 to create a projection display of the isometric view 2100.
[0037]
The present invention can be realized by digital electronic circuits, computer hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The apparatus of the present invention can be implemented in a computer program product embodied in a machine readable storage device for execution on a programmable processor. Also, the method steps of the present invention may be performed by a programmable processor that executes a program of instructions, performing operations on input data and generating output to perform the functions of the present invention.
[0038]
The present invention executes on a programmable system that includes at least one programmable processor, at least one input device, and at least one output device coupled to pass data and instructions to and from the data storage system. There is an advantage that it can be realized by one or more possible computer programs. Each computer program can be written in a high-level procedural programming or object-oriented programming language or, if necessary, in assembly or machine language, but in either case the language can be compiled or Can be interpreted language.
[0039]
Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory and / or a random access memory. Storage devices suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices, internal hard disks and There are magnetic disks such as removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM disks. All of these can be reinforced with a specially designed ASIC (application specific IC) or built into it.
[0040]
As described above, several embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, as can be understood from the above description, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are also within the scope of the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a CAD / CAM interface display.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a 2-D visualization of a computer-generated model.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a manipulator tool.
FIG. 5 shows the rotation of the projection plane performed by the upper quadrant of the manipulator tool.
FIG. 6 shows the rotation of the projection plane performed by the right quadrant of the manipulator tool.
FIG. 7 shows the rotation of the projection plane performed by the lower quadrant of the manipulator tool.
FIG. 8 shows the rotation of the projection plane performed by the left quadrant of the manipulator tool.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the rotation of the projection plane performed by rotating the manipulator pin to a 330-degree position.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating projection plane rotation performed by rotating a manipulator pin to a 0 degree position.
FIG. 11 shows a CAD / CAM display with a rotation option menu.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a manipulator tool with an incremental rotation option selected.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a manipulator tool in which a freehand rotation option is selected.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a manipulator tool in which a current angle setting option is selected.
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a drafting document display.
FIG. 16 is a top view showing objects formed in an isometric view.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first step of creating an isometric view.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second step for creating an isometric view.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third step of creating an isometric view.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a fourth step of creating an isometric view.
FIG. 21 shows a resulting isometric view drafting document display.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 computer system
101 CPU
102 CPU bus
103 System controller
104 DRAM controller
105 RAM
106 Cache SRAM
110 Peripheral bus
111 Bridge controller
112 Video controller
113, 150 hard disk
114 Network adapter
115 display
120 ISA bus
121 Keyboard and mouse controller
122 ROM
123 BIOS
124 audio
125 microphone
126 Speaker
127 mouse
128 keyboard
129 Left button
130 Right button
200 CAD / CAM display
210 Hierarchy tree
220 Computer generated model
230 Projection plane display area
300 display
310 2D visualization (top view)
330 Graphical Manipulator Software Tool
410 Center area button
420 Upper quadrant
421 Right quadrant
422 Lower quadrant
423 Left quadrant
430 Manipulator pin
510, 810, 910, 1010 2D visualization (profile view)
610 2D visualization (side view)
710 2D visualization (bottom-up view)
920, 1020 times dotted arrow
1110 Rotation option menu
1120 Freehand rotation option
1130 Incremental hand rotation option
1140 Incremental setting option
1150 Current angle setting option
1210 Perimeter marking
1310 Surface around manipulator tool
1410 Current angle menu
1420 Angle value setting
1430 Area outside dashed line
1435 dashed line
1510 Projection document
1610 2D visualization
1620 Zero degree mark
1710 30 degree mark
1910 60 degree mark
2100 Isometric view
2110 Projection display

Claims (7)

A method performed by a computer system for creating a two-dimensional projection of a three-dimensional computer generated model (220) on a display (115) comprising:
Storing the data of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) in a storage device;
Reading data stored in the storage device;
Displaying a three-dimensional computer generated model (220) based on the read data;
Selecting a projection plane of the three-dimensional model according to the operation of the input device;
Displaying, on the projection plane, a two-dimensional visualization (310) of the projection (310) of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) based on the read data ;
Changing the selected projection plane in response to an operation of the input device ,
A quadrant (420-423) each comprising a programmable interactive device, a user interactive device (430) tracking the circumference of a circle, and the user interactive device (430) Storing image data of a graphical user interface manipulator (330) in the storage device comprising an interactive menu (1110) for receiving a selection of an operation mode for controlling rotation of the surroundings;
Reading image data stored in the storage device;
Displaying a graphical user interface manipulator (330) based on the image data read from the storage device;
Associating each quadrant (420-423) of the displayed graphical user interface manipulator (330) with a direction relative to an orthogonal axis;
When the programmable interactive device in the quadrant (420-423) corresponding to the operation of the input device is activated, the projection plane is centered on the orthogonal axis associated with the selected quadrant (420-423). Rotating in a predetermined direction by a predetermined frequency,
When the user interactive device (430) is selected according to the operation of the input device and rotated in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction, the projection plane is rotated around an axis orthogonal to the projection screen. A step comprising:
Creating a two-dimensional projection (1510) of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) on the projection plane. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display of the two-dimensional visualization with ones (310), a method characterized in that it is limited to pixel data. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operating mode comprises freehand rotation (1120). The method of claim 1 , wherein the mode of operation comprises incremental rotation (1130). The method of claim 1 , wherein the operating mode comprises inputting a rotation angle (1150). A software device for creating a two-dimensional projection of a three-dimensional computer generated model (220) comprising:
A three-dimensional computer generated model (220), comprising quadrants (420-423), each quadrant (420-423) being associated with a direction relative to an orthogonal axis, a graphical user interface object (330) , quadrant (420- 423) and operating in response to activation by the input device, a second programmable interactive device that tracks the circumference of a circle displayed on the computer screen (115) Storage means storing image data of the device (430), an interactive menu (1110) for selecting an operation mode, and a third interactive device (410) displayed on the computer display;
Means for reading out image data stored in the storage means;
Based on the read image data, a three-dimensional computer generated model (220), a graphical user interface object (330), a first programmable interactive device, a second programmable interactive device (430), an interactive menu ( 1110) and means for displaying an image of the third interactive device (410);
Means for activating the first programmable interactive device in response to an operation of an input device, rotating the projection plane of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) in a predetermined direction by a predetermined frequency;
When the second interactive device (430) is selected according to the operation of the input device and the second interactive device (430) is rotated, a projection plane of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) is obtained. Means for rotating about an axis orthogonal to the projection screen;
Means for controlling the second interactive device (430) to rotate about the circumference of the circle in response to an operation mode selected from the interactive menu (1110) ;
When activating the third interactive device (410) in response to an operation of the input device, a two-dimensional projection (1510) of the 3-dimensional computer generated model (220), be provided with means for creating in said projection plane Interactive software device characterized by A computer readable medium having stored therein computer executable code, the code comprising:
Storing the data of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) in a storage device;
Reading data stored in the storage device;
Displaying a three-dimensional computer generated model (220) based on the read data;
Selecting a projection plane of the three-dimensional model according to the operation of the input device;
Displaying, on the projection plane, a two-dimensional visualization (310) of the projection (310) of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) based on the read data ;
Changing the selected projection plane in response to an operation of the input device ,
A quadrant (420-423) each comprising a programmable interactive device, a user interactive device (430) tracking the circumference of a circle, and the user interactive device (430) Storing image data of a graphical user interface manipulator (330) in the storage device comprising an interactive menu (1110) for receiving a selection of an operation mode for controlling rotation of the surroundings;
Reading image data stored in the storage device;
Displaying a graphical user interface manipulator (330) based on the image data read from the storage device;
Associating each quadrant (420-423) of the displayed graphical user interface manipulator (330) with a direction relative to an orthogonal axis;
When the programmable interactive device in the quadrant (420-423) corresponding to the operation of the input device is activated, the projection plane is centered on the orthogonal axis associated with the selected quadrant (420-423). Rotating in a predetermined direction by a predetermined frequency,
Selecting the user interactive device (430 ) in response to an operation of the input device and rotating in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction causes the projection plane to rotate about an axis orthogonal to the projection screen A step comprising:
A computer-readable medium that causes a computer to execute a two-dimensional projection (1510) of the three-dimensional computer generated model (220) on the projection plane.

Images